Tang Xiu was very confident since he believed that a living vampire was much more attractive to Gui Jianchou than the Demihuman"s arm remains.
As he expected, Gui Jianchou"s tone turned a bit heavier and he nearly replied without hesitation, "Tell me the place and I"ll immediately rush over. I"ll join your research if you"re telling the truth."
"Shanghai"s Paradise Manor. I"ll be waiting for you here," said Tang Xiu with a smile.
Just as he hung up, a look of fear lingered on Shanjenna"s beautiful face as she said with a long face, "Did you just invite someone else, Mr. Tang? Why? He… he won"t do the same thing as this black-hearted old Mo and take my blood every day, right?"
"Well, he probably will," said Tang Xiu with a smile.
Hearing it, Shanjenna"s voice immediately increased several octaves, "I REFUSE! I don"t wanna be the first vampire of Bloodkin in history who died after having my blood taken too much!"
The Bloodkin sucked others" blood to live, not the other way around.
If she were to become the first vampire in history who died due to having her blood taken by others, a huge tempest would surely quake the entire Bloodkin clan. It would be recorded as a shameful event in the annals of history of the vampires. Her name would definitely be there and such a "t.i.tle" was not something to be proud of.
"It won"t be that bad, you can rest your worries about that!" Tang Xiu waved and said, "Anyways, would you like to go back and have some rest, even though it"s not that late now? You can take medicinal pills I just gave and see its effect, right?"
Shanjenna stared blankly before she immediately nodded, "That"s right. Right, I"ll have some first, you go tend to your business."
Having said that, she dashed out in a flash and her figure instantly vanished from the room.
Mo Yi came over and asked with a worried look, "Will your medicinal pills give a good effect to Shanjenna, Tang Xiu? I mean, it will be quite troublesome if she"s unsatisfied with it and then quit. That will make all the previous efforts go down the drain."
"Relax! I guarantee that she won"t quit," said Tang Xiu with a confident smile.
Mo Yi nodded and looked relieved, yet still hesitated since he curiously asked, "Can you tell me in advance about the origin of this Chinese medical pract.i.tioner you just invited? Can he cooperate with me to do the experiment?"
"He"s Divine Doctor Gui Jianchou," answered Tang Xiu slowly.
Mo Yi looked vacant with a sudden shocked yet excited change in expression, as he then spoke with a s.h.i.+vering voice, "Y-you… you are able to invite Divine Doctor Gui Jianchou? d.a.m.n! He"s a miracle-working doctor who"s like a divine dragon whose tail and head are nearly impossible to catch! I"ve heard about his very resounding name and reputation for a long time!"
"Well, keep your excitement at reasonable levels, though." Tang Xiu said, "Divine Doctor or not, he"s still a human. I hope his arrival will be helpful to you and that you can research what I need sooner."
"Don"t worry! As long as there are any medicinal herbs that can subst.i.tute the substance I need, I"m certain I can research the stuff you want in the shortest time," stressed Mo Yi with a heavy nod.
"Alright, then!" Tang Xiu nodded.
****
Time fleeted by and seven days pa.s.sed in the blink of an eye.
In a western-style building in the depths of Paradise Manor, Han Qingwu lied on the bed inside a s.p.a.cious bedroom. Her eyelashes contracted a few times as her eyes slowly opened. As her sight recovered, two tears slowly slid down from her eyes. The glittering tears were unable to conceal the interweaving emotions of pain and remorse. Vaguely, the love that had been imprinted deep down in her bones and inscribed in her heart roamed inside as her innermost feelings.
"Soul Returning Gra.s.s."
Han Qingwu slowly sat up. Her vision was still obstructed with the vague tears as the name of the herb came to her mind. She once believed in the past and even firmly believed that it was absolutely necessary to take that Soul Returning Gra.s.s. Yet now, she began to hate this herb and she would never think about taking it again if possible.
It was a debt she had in her previous life—a debt she still had to pay in this current life.
The pain she felt inside was way too deep and painful, so much so that she was afraid that she would never be able to pay it off.
She got dressed and quietly walked to the door, coming out to watch the bright suns.h.i.+ne outside. Yet, she sighed deep inside before she continued walking outside to the woods and sat cross-legged quietly.
She still had internal injuries, but it wouldn"t be a problem for her now. She had just recovered the memory of her past life which brought about all kinds of mental states that allowed her to realize that her state of mind was no longer the same as her former self. She could recover from her injuries in several days as long as she willed it.
Yet, she opted not to as she was afraid Tang Xiu would be able to sense her true self now. She was afraid that he would find out that she had recovered her memory, and thus opted to keep her ident.i.ty as only Han Qingwu, Tang Xiu"s cla.s.s teacher.
"Hey? You have woken up?"
Not knowing how long she had spent, Ouyang Lulu appeared on the path to the woods. She was surprised to see Han Qingwu sitting cross-legged on a large bluestone and quickly approached her.
Han Qingwu opened her eyes. It was like she was reacquainted with Ouyang Lulu since she took some time to carefully observe her and then slowly said, "I"m really sorry. I have troubled you."
Ouyang Lulu was one who was always fearless and was rather invulnerable to other"s pressuring aura, yet Han Qingwu, who observed her for a short while, gave her an uncomfortable, creepy feeling. She felt that the current Han Qingwu was as though replaced by someone else after she woke up—especially her eyes that felt like they were able to see through her.
"You… what happened to you?" Suppressing the urge to turn around and run away, Ouyang Lulu braced herself to ask.
Han Qingwu looked dull for a moment before her expression slightly changed. Using her left hand to lift the long hair in front of her forehead, her eyes that seemed to be able to see through everything gradually faded away while that particular aura also stopped releasing from her body. She seemed to have returned to the former Han Qingwu, as she shook her head and said, "I"m… fine, but I"m kind of having some internal injuries and feel unwell. Anyways, Lulu, did you save me after I got possessed by a mental demon?"
Ouyang Lulu"s heart lightened. She noticed Han Qingwu"s eyes, which previously seemed as if able to see through everything, seemed to have vanished. She immediately thought the sensation she felt a while ago was just an illusion, yet she still held on to that suspicion and observed Han Qingwu before she replied, "I don"t have such a great ability, you know. It was Tang Xiu. He hurried back from Jingmen Island; I don"t know what method he used to save you either. Anyways, are you hungry? You"ve been in a stupor for over seven days, so do you want me to tell someone to prepare some meals for you?"
Han Qingwu touched her belly and then nodded and said, "Now that you mention it, I"m really starving. Sorry for troubling you though."
Ouyang Lulu rolled her eyes. "If you don"t feel hungry then something would be wrong with you! There"s no way normal people can go without eating and drinking for a week, can they? Alrighty, you still have internal injuries so just go back to your room and have some rest! I"ll tell someone to prepare the meal and send them to you."
"Thank you," said Han Qingwu gratefully.
A few minutes later, Tang Xiu received a call from Ouyang Lulu and hurried to the woods. When he saw Han Qingwu sitting cross-legged on a large bluestone, he suddenly frowned and came striding in front of her, carefully examining her face a few times, and then spoke, "You have woken up?"
"Mmm, and thank you. I heard from Lulu it was because of you." Han Qingwu chuckled.
"No need to thank me, I just don"t want you to die young," Tang Xiu waved and said, "By the way, you… can you tell me what happened to you that caused the emergence of your mental demon? Also, do you remember anything else after waking up from your stupor?"
"Um? What do you mean?" Han Qingwu replied quizzically.
"You don"t remember anything?" Tang Xiu frowned and said, "Like the scene fragments that appeared in your mind previously?"
"No?" Han Qingwu shook her head and said, "I just feel that I have some internal injuries and they are quite serious. It"s impossible for me to recover in a short time. Anyways, Tang Xiu, did something go wrong with my cultivation? How come my True Essence went out of control when I cultivated? It was like it went astray outside the cultivation circulation route outside my meridians?"
Tang Xiu took a deep look at her before he shook his head and said, "I"m not clear about it either. Anyways, now that you"re awake, there"s nothing I need to do here so help yourself. I still need to tend to my things."
Han Qingwu quietly watched Tang Xiu"s back as he left. The deep love she had toward this man was now even stronger than the bright suns.h.i.+ne. She previously thought that she could never meet Tang Xiu again, even in all the lives that she reincarnated into. Never did she expect that she would be reborn, though under a strange combination of circ.u.mstances, and meet Tang Xiu who was still alive.
"Please set your mind at ease for I will only live my life for you for eternity."
Lips squirming a few times, Han Qingwu whispered with a voice that only she could hear.
****
Tang Xiu indeed had something to do and was about to leave Paradise Manor before Ouyang Lulu called him. He felt rather disappointed that he couldn"t get the answer he wanted, but he still put his concerns to the back of his mind and prepared himself to face the following issue.
The date to explore the three-star vestige in Strait of Malacca was getting closer and closer, whereas the a.s.signed ability users by the country had also arrived in Shanghai. After Tang Xiu learned about it, the China authority had a.s.signed a total of five people to represent the country in exploring this three-star vestige. Aside from the team captain, the three others had also arrived.
Adjacent to an old alley located in Jingning District of Shanghai, a relatively remote residential complex existed. The old street itself was quite well-known due to one wine shop and its pot of old wine.
As the common saying goes, fragrant wine fears no dark alley.
Feng Wineshop was established decades ago. Its owner had changed once and, despite the changing era and improved living standards, it still existed and was still a good, reputable wine shop in the eyes of many people.
"Welcome."
A youth approached and greeted at the tavern"s entrance.
Tang Xiu nodded and instantly released his perception after entering this Feng Wineshop. Shortly after, he found the person he needed to meet in the corner next to the window. That person was… a middle-aged man whose face had a beard full of messy hair not much better than a chicken nest. The man was now enjoying his wine and was savoring his serving of meat and vegetable dishes.
"Zhu Long?" asked Tang Xiu. He could vaguely sense something extraordinary from the middle-aged man.
Zhu Long looked up and casually squinted at Tang Xiu and lightly replied, "Now that we"re here, let"s have some drinks first. The rest will arrive shortly and I"ll act as the team captain this time. I hope you will strictly follow my order later."
"I"ve got no problem with that."
Despite knowing nothing about the arrangement set up by those people above, Tang Xiu was fine with it and decided to keep quiet since Zhu Long was going to lead the team. Moreover, he had prepared himself and, if there was not much danger in the three-star vestige, he planned to leave the team to conduct an in-depth exploration to find some treasures by himself.